SPC Special Interest Group newsletters and bulletins
Guidelines for authors and editors
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s (SPC’s) Fisheries Information Section produces a
series of Special Interest Group (SIG) bulletins covering a range of marine resource subject
areas. These SIGs include: Beche-de-mer, Fisheries Newsletter, Fisheries Training and
Education, Live Reef Fish, Pearl Oyster, Traditional Marine Resource Management and
Knowledge, Trochus, and Women in Fisheries. The following guidelines have been prepared
by SPC’s Publications Section to assist authors and editors in writing and preparing papers for
publication in SIGs.
TEXT (general)
Please review the latest issue of the SIG you are interested in writing for to become familiar
with its format, article length and subject matter. If you are in doubt about whether your
article is suitable, contact the managing editor. All SPC SIGs can be found online at:
http://www.spc.int/coastfish/News/news.htm
After you submit your contribution to the managing editor, he or she will determine whether
or not to accept it for publication, or if further work needs to be done first.
As you write, please keep in mind that English is not the first language for many readers of
SPC SIGs. Therefore, ensure your contribution is written clearly, concisely, and without
unnecessary words, phrases and jargon. Spell out all abbreviations and acronyms the first time
they appear in your article.
Spelling: In general, SPC uses UK English spelling in its publications.
English usage and punctuation: Please refer to the SPC/SPREP style guide (see
http://www.spc.int/ftp, then scroll down to the folder called “SPC Style Guide”, which also
contains the latest changes), but a few guidelines are listed here:
 Use the term “such as” instead of “like” (e.g. Many kinds of invertebrates are found
on the reef, such as crustaceans, corals and clams.)
 Write compare with, not compare to (e.g. The density of holothurians on reef A is
high compared with reef B.)
 The word “since” should be used with reference to time and not as a substitute for the
word “because”.
 Use double quotes, rather than single (e.g. “quotes”, NOT ‘quotes’)
 Do not use apostrophes in dates (e.g. 1970s, NOT 1970’s)
 Do not use a comma in either e.g. or i.e.
 Do not use full stops/periods in abbeviations or acronyms (e.g. FAO, SPC)
 data takes a plural verb (e.g. The data are. . .)
Scientific conventions: For scientific conventions, writers should refer to the CBE Scientific
Style and Format. For SPC-specific conventions and spellings refer to the SPC/SPREP style
guide (see http://www.spc.int/ftp, then scroll down to the folder called “SPC Style Guide”). A
few guidelines are listed here:
 Use italics to indicate genus and/or species (e.g. Thunnus albacares, Thunnus spp.),
but not for higher levels of taxonomic classification (e.g. Serranidae)
 Do not punctuate measurements such as cm, g, ha
 Use a capital L to abbreviate liter
 Use a lower case t for metric tonne
 There should be a space between the number and the unit of measurement (e.g.
25 cm, 6 g, 32 L, 25° C)
 Use per cent in text and the symbol, %, in tables and graphs with no space between
the number and the symbol % (e.g. 12%)
 Use the 24-hour system (09.00 hours, 22.30 hours)
Common and scientific names for fish and other marine species: SPC follows the FAO
Species Catlogue for fish names.
Title page: The title should accurately reflect the paper’s content, and should be short and
concise. The author’s full name, email and contact address should also be included on the title
page.
Body: Text should be in MS Word or rich text fomat, and in an easily readable font, such as
Times New Roman 11pt. First level headings should be bolded, flush left and lowercased
(except for proper names and the first letter in the heading). Second level headings should be
bolded, flush left, lowercased and italicised. Third level headings should be bolded, flush left,
lowercased, italicised and in 10 pt.
A few basic text guidelines:
 Use a single (not double) space after full stops/periods, commas, colons, semicolons,
etc.
 Spell out numbers less than 10 (e.g. eight fish, but 10 oysters). Numbers less than 10
should not be spelled out, however, when accompanied by a standard unit of measure
(e.g. 3 kg) or where numbers above and below 10 are used consecutively within a
single sentence (e.g. Partipants ranged in number from 5 to 20.)
 Spell out abbreviations, acronyms and scientific names the first time they are
mentioned.
 Avoid the use of special or unusual characters that may be difficult or impossible for
the Fisheries Information Section to reproduce in layout, including diacriticals in
Pacific Island languages.
Citations and references: Citations within the text should list the author and date, with NO
comma separating the two (e.g. Harrison 1999). In cases of three or more authors, list the first
author followed by et al. (do not italicise et al.) and the date (e.g. Harrison et al. 2003). Only
those references that are cited within the paper should appear in the list of references. Names
of journals should be spelled out in full. In the List of References, all references should:
 be COMPLETE (i.e. with all the necessary information, such as appropriate dates,
page numbers, publisher, etc.)
 correspond to the citations in the text,
 follow SPC house style.
Reproducing already-published articles: Gaining permission to reproduce articles, abstracts,
tables, graphs, and other materials is the responsibility of the author or, in some instances, the
SIG managing editor. A copy of this permission form should be emailed or posted to the SPC
Fisheries Information Section (cfpinfo@spc.int or BP D5, 98848 Noumea cedex, New
Caledonia)
Illustrations
Illustrations (graphs, tables and figures) sent in electronic form should be separate from the
main text, and NOT embedded within it. Table headings should be placed above the table;
figure captions should go at the bottom.
If photos, graphs, illustrations or artwork from a copyrighted source have been used, it is the
author’s responsibility to obtain permission from that source, and this permission should be
copied to the SPC Fisheries Information Section.
Tables and graphs: Tables and graphs should be in Excel or MS Word format. Graphs in
Excel should be accompanied by the worksheet on which the graph is based. Ensure that your
tables are numbered correctly and that they agree with the numbering cited in your text. Place
sources and notes immediately below the table.
For graphs and figures, please note the following:
 All SIG bulletins and newsletters are printed in black and white and this should be
taken into account when producing graphs depicting several parameters.
 Capitalise the first letter of the first word on axis labels.
 Do not use overly large font sizes to label axes or parts within figures.
 Do not use large font sizes to label degrees of longitude and latitude on maps.
 Avoid placing labels on a vertical plane (except on y axis).
Photos and slides:
 Photos will be reproduced in black and white so they must have good contrast.
 It is preferable to send photos electronically, but if the files are too large, originals (or
a CD) can be posted to the Fisheries Information Section. If they are sent by post, the
author’s name and address must be clearly labeled, and the figure numbers and
captions must be clearly identified. The Fisheries Information Section will return
slides and photos to the author after publication.
 Photos and slides must be of good quality and high resolution (i.e. at least 300 dpi
when printed at 10 cm x 7 cm).
Maps, line drawings and other illustrations: Maps, line drawings and other illustrative
material should be sent as separate jpg files (not embedded within the text), or as original
artwork at a minimum of 300 dpi when printed at about 10 cm x 7 cm.
Responsibility of the SIG Managing/Coordinating Editor
The managing/coordinating editor determines the overall content and editorial direction of the
bulletin and determines the theme (if any) for each issue. The managing editor is responsible
for writing the editorial, ensuring that supporting articles are appropriate and technically
accurate, and ensuring that permission is obtained for reprinting/republishing articles from
another source. The managing editor reads each contribution, conducts an initial assessment
and technical edit, and corresponds with the author regarding any comments or suggestions
for technical/scientific improvement.
At this time, all SIGs are unrefereed, so it is up to the managing/coordinating editor to
determine which papers to “accept” for publication.
Responsibility of SPC copy editors
SPC’s in-house editors edit each SIG contribution for overall readability, consistency,
grammar, and punctuation. They also check that references are complete, that tables, graphs
and other illustrations are in order, and that SPC house style has been adhered to.